In exciting news for Caleb Carr readers, more advance praise for Mr. Carr’s upcoming thriller Surrender, New York has appeared in The New York Times Book Review this week. In a cover review by multi-award winning crime novelist Michael Connelly, Surrender, New York is described as “an addictive contemporary crime procedural … [a] mystery with multiple messages.” Connelly notes that, “The crime novel, in its most serious form, has always been used to reflect trends and lament losses and clang the bell of warning to the ills of society.” For long-time readers of Mr. Carr’s work, this description used in reference to a Carr novel should come as no surprise; lurking under the surface of his previous bestselling historical thrillers, The Alienist and its sequel The Angel of Darkness, were superbly constructed social commentaries that were not just about society of 120 years ago, but our society, too.

And what of the trends, losses, and warning bells in Mr. Carr’s latest offering? Connelly explains that in Surrender, New York we are introduced to an experienced criminal investigator Trajan Jones, “a man of science … who also possesses a jaundiced eye when it comes to the science of crime detection.” While The Alienist “celebrated the dawning era in the application of science to crime detection … Carr now uses Jones to sound the warning that things may be going awry. Forensics should not be treated as faith.” However, Connelly also makes it clear in his review that the warning bells sounded in Surrender, New York are not limited to modern forensics. Namely, that while “so many are left in the shadows even in a prosperous nation,” Surrender, New York also shows us that there are “those of power and wealth who are willing to kill to keep some uncomfortable truths from being revealed.”

Even though Surrender, New York may ask us to stare “ugly realities full in the face” just as Dr. Kreizler asked of us in The Alienist, Connelly reassures us that Mr. Carr’s latest offering still retains the same big-heartedness that made its predecessors so well-loved. As he writes at the conclusion of his review, “It is hard to resist a character with such eloquent charm and a story with such deep meaning, no matter what its time and place.”

The Center for Fiction, a literary organization that connects readers and writers in New York City, has announced that Caleb Carr will be offering a Master Class in November as part of their Crime Fiction Academy. The Crime Fiction Academy was established in 2012, and offers students the chance to attend workshops and Master Classes with successful crime writers. If you are interested in attending Caleb Carr’s Master Class, you can view the details of the event and RSVP at the Center’s website. The Master Class will be taking place on Thursday, November 3rd at 7:00pm.

And don’t forget that Caleb Carr’s upcoming thriller Surrender, New York will be released in less than three weeks, on August 23rd! For anyone who hasn’t pre-ordered it yet, you can now “look inside” the book and read the first few pages on the Penguin Random House website and Amazon.

As the release of Caleb Carr’s newest offering Surrender, New York draws nearer, Publisher’s Weekly has listed the novel in their diverse Top 10 list of mysteries and thrillers of Fall 2016. On the list, they describe Surrender, New York as Caleb Carr’s “first major work of suspense in more than 15 years. The star is a criminal psychologist living in present-day upstate New York.” It is, of course, a lot more than that as well — you can read the full synopsis in the Other Books section of 17th Street.

Surrender, New York is published by Random House and will be released on August 23, 2016.

With the release of Surrender, New York drawing closer, the first trade reviews for Caleb Carr’s new thriller that have emerged this past week should excite his readership. Booklist, the American Library Association’s book review magazine, praised the novel in their starred review (a star is assigned to works Booklist editors believe are exceptional in their genre or format), describing it as a “compulsive read”. A copy from the full review, which can be found on the Booklist website, is included below:

Twenty years after the success of The Alienist (1994) and The Angel of Darkness (1997), Carr once again delivers a high-stakes thriller featuring a new band of clever, determined outcasts. When the bodies of “throwaway teenagers”—or abandoned children—accumulate in upstate New York, police suspect it’s the work of a serial killer. Using Dr. Laszlo Kreizler’s investigative methods, however, criminal psychologists Trajan Jones and Mike Li (with the help of a varied cast, which includes two preteens and a cheetah) soon determine that the staged suicides are too complex for one person. In the same way turn-of-the-century politics permeated Carr’s historical mysteries, today’s controversies inform the conflict in Surrender, New York (or provide “context,” as his protagonists would say). A justice system distorted by post-9/11 paranoia, trigger-happy cops, and self-appointed forensic experts constantly impedes the gang’s efforts, making their frustration palpable. However, the characters’ budding relationships soften the biting commentary, and their genuine desire to find the truth results in a compulsive read as secrets surface layer by layer. With gut-punching twists and the potential for a sequel, this intelligent, timely thriller will be savored by Carr’s fans and new readers alike.

Kirkus Reviews, whose full review of Surrender, New York can be found here, were similarly generous in their praise, describing the novel as:

[a] whodunit that weds leisurely nineteenth-century storytelling with twenty-first-century unpleasantness … Carr’s story poses an utterly modern question: for a career-minded politico, which is worse, a child-neglect scandal or a serial killer on the loose? We get to see both at work, including some nicely nasty mayhem … Carr’s many fans will find this well worth the wait.

Surrender, New York will be released by Random House on August 23. If you are yet to pre-order, you can do so at Amazon or via one of the other retailers listed on the Penguin Random House website.